Transluminal balloon angioplasty is used in the treatment of peripheral vascular disease to increase or restore blood flow through a significantly narrowed artery in a limb; it is also used in the treatment of blockage of the coronary arteries. In fact, coronary angioplasty has emerged as a major viable alternative to bypass surgery for revascularization of stenotic and occluded coronary arteries. Unlike bypass surgery, angioplasty does not require general anesthesia, opening of the chest wall, use of a heart-lung machine, or transfusion of blood. Angioplasty is not only less invasive and less traumatic to the patient, it is also less expensive because of the shorter hospital stay and shorter recovery time.
Transluminal balloon angioplasty is performed by first inserting a hollow needle through the skin and into the patient's femoral artery. A guidewire is advanced through the hollow needle and into the artery, then along the patient's vasculature toward the site of the blocked blood vessel or heart valve to be treated. X-ray imaging is used to help move the guidewire through the vascular system and into position just past the stenosis to be treated. A balloon catheter is then threaded over the guidewire and advanced until the deflated balloon is within the stenosis. The balloon is then repeatedly inflated to widen the narrowed blood vessel. After the procedure is complete, the catheter and guidewire are withdrawn from the blood vessels and the patient.
Angiography, which is used to detect diseases that alter the appearance of blood vessels, is performed in a similar manner. A hollow needle is first inserted through the skin and into the femoral artery, and a guidewire is then inserted through the needle and into the affected blood vessel. A catheter is then threaded over the guidewire and into the blood vessel to be examined, using x-ray imaging to guide the catheter to the desired position. Contrast medium is then injected, and a rapid sequence of x-ray pictures are taken so that blood flow along the affected vessel can be studied. Once complete, the catheter and guidewire are removed from the patient's body.
After the catheter and guidewire used during angioplasty or angiography are removed, the puncture wound in the femoral artery must be closed and the bleeding through the puncture site in the artery stopped. Currently, ice packs and/or pressure are applied to the artery for a period lasting up to several hours in an attempt to stop the bleeding. There exists, however, a significant chance that upon movement by the patient, the wound will reopen and begin bleeding again. Although efforts have been made to close the puncture wound using staples, clips, and sutures, they have been unsuccessful, largely due to the inability to clearly locate and visualize the puncture wound in the femoral artery.
Other wounds in the vasculature of a patient can also be difficult to locate and access. Thus, a device and method to facilitate the closure wounds in the vasculature of a patient, such as femoral artery puncture wounds following transluminal balloon angioplasty and angiography, would be extremely beneficial. A device having the ability to aid in locating the puncture wound and facilitating the closure of the wound using staples, clips, or sutures would eliminate the prolonged bleeding currently associated with such wounds.